Case Study

Athletica

Case Study

.

Client

Athletica

Date

Jan - June 2019

Our Services

Brand Strategy

Brand Identity System

Customer Experience

Marketing Collateral

Print Collateral

Art Direction

Recognizing the Challenges

To develop a brand that communicates fitness and empowerment that targets a niche demographic whilst still maximising returns. The shareholders approached us with a concept for a women's only fitness club that needed to balance the needs of privacy whilst creating the atmosphere of a high-end health club. The first challenge was to create a name that represented this concept. The next challenge was building an infrastructure to support the brand’s message. In its original state, the facility was dated. Working closely with the onsite developers, we collaborated to bring an 80s style gym into a modern-day fitness club accented with femininity.

"To know your business is to know your audience, brand strategy bridges the gap between the two."

Don Walker, Chief Brand Strategist, Usul Design

Our Approach

In the discovery phase, we learned how there was a viable market gap for this type of venture, however it needed to appeal to a large female audience in order to be sustainable. We created various female personas such as single, married, mothers, daughters, professionals, working class and stay at home moms. Furthermore, we had to take into consideration the fitness levels of these personas. After running strategy sessions and defining the client base, a central theme for the brand’s values emerged: upscale, inclusive and empowering. Thus a name was born to signify these values and Athletica was conceived. The name tested well and the shareholders were delighted with the vision we created moving forward.

Branding

After developing a name, we needed to create an identity. The name needed to be complemented by a contemporary, sophisticated style. Minimalistic yet fashionable, we worked with a classical sans serif font that would help define the brand, making it easily identifiable in print and digital application.

Additionally we designed and produced materials that included interior instructional signage, stationary, apparel, membership forms, cards and key tags.

T-Shirt

Membership Cards

Keyring Cards

“With the successful membership enrollment Athletica has achieved, it is very evident that Usul’s brand strategy played a key role in this success.”

Partner, Athletica

Collateral

The opening of this new state of the art facility required marketing materials to promote the new club while informing them of the two central memberships offered. We chose to create a letter size flyer beautifully printed with quality materials. Baseball card size day passes were also produced to allow potential customers a one time experience to help encourage membership.

Located on West Dearborn’s busy Michigan Ave., we took advantage of its substantial traffic and utilized this prime opportunity to advertise Athletica’s enrolment period. This idea proved to be effective in driving membership sign-ups and set Athletica on track for a successful opening.

Environmental Design Consultation

For the launch, interior and exterior design elements would be a key factor in brand communication. Collaborating with the developer onsite, Usul was able to influence the design choices that would support the goals and objectives of the club. To maximize the member experience, we designed and produced patron touchpoints that impacted the users understanding of the brand’s storytelling with a cohesive visual identity. The results below show the process of how we achieved these goals and the outcome was well received by the targeted audience.

Surveying

Assessment

In Progress

Entrance

Before

Entrance

Installation

Offices

Spa

Lobby

Into the Future

According to the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association), the $30 billion health and fitness industry in the U.S. has been growing by at least 3 - 4% annually for the last ten years and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.It was understood from the onset of this project that we would be creating a brand with ambition to expand it into a franchise. Athletica has retained Usul as a consultant moving forward with these goals. We will be working closely to develop new locations and aid them in this endeavor.